South Korean farmer has 11 worms removed from eyes

Doctors in South Korea removed 11 living worms from the eyes of a 71-year-old crop farmer. The ophthalmologists performed the extraction after the man reported persistent discomfort and visual impairment for two months.

The patient described a constant sensation of foreign material in both eyes, accompanied by redness and blurred vision. Clinical examination revealed multiple mobile, whitish roundworms within the conjunctiva. The conjunctival blood vessels were enlarged, and the corneal cells showed signs of erosion, likely resulting from the presence of the parasites.

Ophthalmologists administered topical anesthetic drops to numb the eyes before removing the organisms with fine forceps. The procedure yielded 11 adult worms measuring between 11 and 22 millimeters in length. At the time of extraction, many of the female specimens were pregnant. The doctors removed the adults before they could release larvae directly into the ocular tissue.

A case report published in the New England Journal of Medicine identified the organisms as Thelazia callipaeda nematodes. These parasites are widespread across Asia and have also established populations in parts of Europe. They primarily infest the eyes of cats and dogs but can inadvertently transfer to humans.

The case report details the diagnostic findings and the manual extraction process. The documentation highlights the physical condition of the patient’s eyes prior to treatment, including specific damage to the cornea and conjunctiva. The medical team confirmed the species identification through microscopic examination of the collected specimens.